Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard, recently slammed his former EA counterpart, John Riccitiello, labeling him "the worst CEO in video games" during a Grit podcast interview. While acknowledging EA's superior business stability compared to Activision's, Kotick expressed a preference for Riccitiello's continued absence from the industry. He even jokingly stated that Activision would have paid to keep Riccitiello as CEO indefinitely, partly stemming from a fear that Bing Gordon, EA's former chief creative officer, might take the helm.
Riccitiello's departure from EA in 2013 followed a period of financial struggles and layoffs. His tenure was marked by controversial decisions, including a proposal to charge players for reloading in Battlefield and his infamous remark about developers who resisted microtransactions. He later served as CEO of Unity Technologies, leaving in 2023 amidst controversy surrounding installation fees.
Kotick, who oversaw Activision Blizzard's $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, revealed that EA had made multiple attempts to acquire Activision Blizzard. He admitted that EA's business model often appeared more robust than Activision's.
Kotick's own leadership at Activision Blizzard, while financially successful, was also controversial. The company faced numerous allegations of sexism, a toxic work environment, and mishandling of serious misconduct claims. While Activision Blizzard maintains that independent reviews found these allegations unsubstantiated, a $54 million settlement was reached with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2023. The settlement stated that no court or independent investigation substantiated allegations of systemic sexual harassment or improper board actions regarding workplace misconduct.
During the podcast, Kotick also shared his critical view of Universal's 2016 Warcraft film adaptation, calling it "one of the worst movies I've ever seen."
